Because I ruffle
more easily than the turtle,
I’m spending today’s sunshine
indoors,
picking my teeth
with the leftover shards
of yesterday’s poem,
flossing out
any subtext I
might have missed
when that
naked guy waded
over to hear my
verse-in-progress and sent
thought’s rumbling
boxcar right
over the side
and into the
river.
(The heavy-eyed reptile didn’t
so much as blink,
neither
at his unsubtle
arousal
nor at my muttered
reading. I
don’t blame him;
the poem wasn’t
half yet done.)
the tenth muse 
Do you know, I searched my whole photo library but found not a single turtle? Geese, check. Ducks, check. Squirrels, foxes, herons, fish, horses, deer. Sea lions. Iguanas. Alligators. Check and check. Even buffalo and bald eagles. My brother in antlers. Rabbit statuary. But not a single goddamn turtle.
That was … brilliant!
Very nicely done, and most enjoyable. Thanks for it.
Oooh, I love this and your writing style! You have a nice blog setup too, and I love your tag line. I shall be visiting more often. Love.
Kristina, you’re too kind. Thanks for stopping in and dropping me a line. You’re definitely welcome back any time!
I liked this one a bunch. “picking my teeth
with the leftover shards
of yesterday’s poem” Love it.
Randy, while I am slightly wary of your profile nic, I’m very curious to go check out some of your own writings. I much appreciate your kind comment. That was the line that inspired the whole poem. 🙂
well now…i could see where that might be a bit of a distraction…lol
Ha – gotta try picking my teeth with yesterday’s shards
might inspire me!!!
thanks for sharing this with One Shot
Leslie, it’s my pleasure, as always. Thanks to you guys for putting it all together. Glad you liked this. 🙂
Nicely done!
This is an excellent piece. I can identify so easily with this in some manner. I thought the photo was an intentional mystery until I saw your comment, but I love the photo too.
Carl, what? You have naked guys coming up to you while you write too? And here I thought it was a pretty singular experience, lol.
And the photo– yeah, when I couldn’t find a turtle this was for some reason an obvious second choice. Not sure exactly, but the “in-your-face-ness” of this goose just somehow seemed appropriate to the theme…
Thanks for stopping by; always appreciate one of your visits.
This is a new addition to my favorite poems of yours! I love every line of it!
wow! thanks, Annmarie. High praise indeed, from you. I’ll be sure to include it when ever I put together my “Joanna’s Greatest Hits” album. 😉
amusing reflection of the creative process
Very entertaining and creative =)
Interesting piece… love how you have drawn yesterday’s readers into this piece, they have become a linking part of your words.
you are cracking me up. good one!
Thanks, everybody, for your kind comments. Humorous stuff is kinda rare for me– glad it seemed to make y’all smile.
Sparkles, Lori– appreciate it. I admit that every time I open this page and am faced with that goose staring at me front & center, it cracks me up too. (Eh, it’s the little things in life, I guess.)
Peter, brian, ayala– much thanks for your thoughts, as ever. Always appreciate the visit.
john, misery, Reflections– thanks for stopping by; you’re welcome to drop in any time!
Cheers, all 🙂
–jsl
Joanna I really like this too. You are very creative with your words and I look forward to reading/hearing more from you.
smooches,
Larie
thanks, Larie! you are such a sweetheart, and it was great hearing some of your poetry Thursday night! 🙂
Glad to find you through One Shot, I loved the imagery you evoke here. Fantastic write ~ Rose
Excellent poem.
I hope the turtle apologised for interrupting your creative flow. lol
Well, that was a trip and a half. Reading through the poem about 4 times, it finally occurred to me that the story you tell is very subtle in terms of ramming home (hahahaha) the point of a an elongated encounter with the easily aroused. Very apt metaphor (or at least I hope its a metaphor… if not I suppose beware of naked dudes @ poetry readings.) Reads marvelously as always, hope all is well & talk to you soon. Take care,
crb.
Rose, likewise about the One Shot; it’s such a great way to connect.
Richard, lol. If an apology would have prolonged the experience, I’m glad he didn’t!
crb– People often give my imagination more credit than it deserves; I tend to write more literally than some would think. As is the case here. No metaphor, sadly. All too real. :O (Not to scare you away from Richmond, or anything…)
cheers,
–jsl